By TOSHIYUKI TAKEYA/ Staff Writer
February 26, 2021 at 07:10 JST
Editor's note: This is part of a series of videos offering an up-close perspective on the animal kingdom. A special 360-degree video camera system was set up in zoos and other facilities to show how the animals view their world as they interact.
Also visit our special 360-DEGREE LIVES page (http://t.asahi.com/360lives), where you can watch all the previous videos.
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As its name suggests, the orchid mantis looks like a beautiful flower for its colors and shape.
But make no mistake about it, the insect characterized by its inverted triangle-shaped face and vertically long eyes is a fearsome hunter.
It hides from its predators, waits for its prey, which is attracted to flowers, and catches the victim with its sharp, sickle-like forearms.
The Adachi Park of Living Things in Tokyo's Adachi Ward keeps orchid mantis nymphs hatched between September and November last year.
According to Rikuto Imai, a commentator at the zoo, they are about 2 centimeters long.
When nymphs are hatched, they are about 0.6 cm long and look poisonous with their red and black colors. But they turn pale pink once they molt their exoskeleton.
In addition to looking like a flower, nymphs produce a substance that attracts honeybees to lure their favorite prey.
The orchid mantis repeatedly molts its exoskeleton until it reaches maturity. Molting happens five to six times for males, while females undergo two more moltings.
The female is about 6 cm long, but the male is only half the size.
The male mates with the female at the risk of its life. The male stealthily approaches from behind and climbs onto the female's back. The male drums the female's back with its forearms at high speed to let her know that he has arrived for mating.
The orchid mantis has a wide geographical distribution in Malaysia, Indonesia and other parts of tropical Asia.
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